Disclaimer:
The PJO universe doesn't belong to me. The plot was loosely inspired by IdeasCornicopia's story, Nico di Angelo and the Bane of the Gods. The story, the way it's written, most of the incidents and some other aspects are the ones that are my own. There may be a few OCs sprinkled in later, but who knows?
Since the second arc has a way different setting from the first, (un)fortunately, Kronos does not appear in this Arc (but later... well, I make no promises) and other characters show up. Unlike AO3, has a limit on character tags and whatnot, so I was in a bit of a dilemma.
And this was my solution!
A/N: Hello all you happy people. This is AK with the new chapter of Written In Reverse! Hope you like it! Also, thank you, thank you for the 400+ views (:D)! I never expected it, and I. am. shook.
Summary: Nico thought that, after going toe to toe with the Lord of Time himself, he would find the things that came after relatively easier. Nico thought wrong. What lies in store for our little ball of darkness?
Book One
Second Arc: Ab Incunabulis
Chapter 5: After the Pain Subsides
Nico opened his eyes to meet a blurry world.
And immediately closed them again.
If you do not see them, they cannot see you, he reminded himself.
A child's myth that, when in a place like Tartarus, might mean the difference between life and death.
He did a quick mental pat down.
No burns or bleeding wounds.
Slight dizziness, but that was to expected.
Scull ring, intact.
Aviator's jacket, check.
Stygian iron sword- absent.
He sent his powers flowing parallel through the ground, not through the Earth itself, but through the structure which held him.
Weird. He felt unusually… detached.
In Tartarus, there were many creatures which held powers over the mortal mind.
On one hand, some were harmless, that is- as far as anything of Tartarus could be called as such.
(And what that said about Nico…)
However, on the other hand, some creatures were simply vicious-
They could hamper one's sense of sight, smell, or touch.
(Who could you trust if you couldn't trust yourself?)
They could deceive one to believe that one's closest friend is one's vilest foe.
(He didn't bother with these much because he knew none of his friends were down there with him. But he had to wonder… was this how Percy, or Annabeth, met their end?)
They could make one think that one had hardly enough space to breathe, when in reality one was in an empty piece of land the size of a football field.
(He hated those as they reminded him of his time in the jar. If the Seven came even minutes later… he didn't even want to think about it)
They could mess with his perception of reality.
But they had one thing in common- they could not mess with his powers.
And this particular fact came in use more times than he'd liked to admit.
But he digressed.
From what he could tell, was in a large room, with high walls made of bricks.
He noted some kind of a metal décor with the letters 'W' and 'H' written in fancy lettering mounted on one of the walls.
Rows of tables, no benches, no- bleachers?
Was he in a school then?
There were overwhelming signals of mortal life all around him, making it hard to differentiate.
Maybe he was in an Alliance camp?
He doubted it, but seeing that they seemed content to let him be, he decided to come back to that later.
There was some 'monster' activity outside of one of those doors.
It was nothing he couldn't handle- maybe a single monster of upper medium to mid-range potential, or a group of a few small order monsters.
The air wasn't poisonous, the ground wasn't alive.
Okay, he was fairly certain that he was not in Tartarus.
That's one load off my back.
Nico then sent out a silver of his consciousness into the ground to check for the presence of Gaia.
He probed lightly, as gentle as a feather.
He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention, after all.
To his surprise, he felt the absence of the aggressive, omnipotent power that could be felt just below the surface ever since Gaia awoke.
Hopefully, that meant that there was no rip in the Space-Time continuum.
And as an added bonus, he was still in one piece.
No less particulate than usual.
Huh.
So the time travelling thing actually worked.
There was peace and quiet all around.
Well, speaking in the sense that the world was not ending, not that there was actual peace and quiet.
He fully opened his eyes and let them feast on his surroundings.
The room was packed with children with clean clothes and faces, some of whom looked rather familiar, now that he thought about it…
Judging from the bleachers placed- in a C-like shape around the side opposite to the door- it was an auditorium of sorts.
There were children dancing in the middle, to a song that was… Jesse McCartney?
It was foreign to him, the way these mortals seemed to have no care of the war- and yet…
Somehow, he had a feeling of déjà vu.
How strange.
He was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the juncture between two rows of bleachers.
That was when he realized that something was really wrong.
His center of balance was unstable, and there seemed to be… less of him than usual.
It was like almost like he'd- shrunk.
This… wasn't supposed to happen.
As he peered down at himself, he noticed that his hands were much smaller than his familiar ones, almost like those of…
Oh Hades…
The pieces fell into place with painful precision.
He wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry.
Could someone please remind him how could he have been such an idiot?
Oh gods, Nico thought.
One part of his brain was screaming,
'I'm in Westover Hall. I am in Westover Hall. I. Am. In. Freaking. Westover. Hall. I knew I should have scrapped that stupid plan when I had the chance. Now that idiot of titanic proportions has made me twelve. Who in Hades does that!?'
The other part was even less helpful- it simply went offline.
This was a major complication in the plan. He had expected himself to be a fully capable young man of nineteen, not a twelve year old… kid!
He'd planned that he would stay in the shadows, making several small, but vital corrections of his timeline as it went progressed.
Not that he'd have to relive the past all over again!
(Okay, fine. It wasn't much of a plan really. But in his defense, he had less than three minutes to formulate it.)
It just wasn't fair.
What?
Was nothing going to go the way he wanted it to?
"Nico, are you alright?" asked a soft, concerned female voice, cutting his mental breakdown short.
It was a voice that was so familiar, so lovely, and so, so sorely missed, that Nico felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.
He whispered in a voice that cracked with unspoken words-
"Bianca."
"…Nico?"
He blinked the tears back hurriedly.
He hoped she didn't notice. But as always, she did.
"Are you sure you don't need to see the nurse?"
Nico shook his head and mumbled his dissent. He took a moment to observe her from the corner of his eye.
She was just as he remembered her.
Her round girlish face with a pointy chin, currently half-covered by her lime green hat, was slightly tilted to one side.
Her slightly wavy black hair tumbled over her shoulders in loose locks.
Her long, thick eyelashes fell over her brown eyes, which were narrowed in a familiar expression of concern.
A good dash of freckles were seen on her button-like nose, brought into sharp notice by her Italian olive complexion.
She held a glass filled with water in her left hand, which she held out to him.
Okay, calm down. Calm down and think.
His dead sister was- not dead.
Why did she want him to visit the school nurse, again?
'I was dizzy,' his mind reminded him as he numbly curled his hand around the cup and brought it to his lips.
'So that's why she wasn't by my side unlike last time.'
Unlike last time.
What exactly had happened the last time?
The monster behind the door edged closer, and Nico was able to recognize it- a Manticore.
Or, to be specific, a certain Dr. Thorn.
He finally identified which time frame he was in.
It was the one when Dr. Thorn would try to kidnap them.
He wanted to smack himself.
The moment that changed his life indeed.
It had been so obvious.
Percy.
He discreetly glanced around the room.
Now that he was looking, he could see a disgruntled Thalia dancing with Grover on the near side of the room.
And on the far side-
His heart stopped when he saw Percy dancing awkwardly with Annabeth.
During the war, Percy and Annabeth had truly embraced the concept of being the 'Golden Couple'.
They had become a sign of heroism, a symbol of hope, a cause to rally behind.
When they had died, they had died fighting the horrors of Tartarus side by side- martyrs for the cause they believed in.
Very heroic, very inspiring, and every time he thought of it, it sent a burning spike of ice down his throat.
But at the sight of the two legends as children without the weight of war on their shoulders…
Nico found that he was unable to look away.
And at that moment, he knew-
He may never completely get over the son of Poseidon.
But he would not feel the bone deep ache he used to have each time he saw him.
Not anymore.
(Or is it will have when he sees him? Uh… these tenses were going to give him a serious headache)
But back to Dr. Thorn. The Manticore was starting to get a bit too close to comfort.
He stood at the doorway, sweeping the room with a jaundiced eye.
His gaze swept past their shadowy corner where it almost lingered on them, before it fell on the Satyr dancing with Thalia.
His lips curled into a sneer as he made his way towards the duo.
Nico sighed in relief as the two drifted away from his location.
He saw Percy exchanging whispered words with Annabeth.
He tensed up as the green eyed boy approached their perch.
Bianca noticed his movement, and looked wearily at the new-comer.
"Hi, I'm Percy," said Percy with a charming grin.
His hair fell rakishly over his eyes. His eyes held the merry sparkle which he had lost long before he fell into Tartarus.
His familiar facial features were relaxed, and his posture was casual, despite obvious nervousness.
Bianca looked at the son of Poseidon with no little suspicion.
Nevertheless, she introduced herself, then Nico.
As the two older children started talking, Nico turned his gaze elsewhere.
He noted that Thalia and Grover were leading the Manticore on a merry chase around the gym.
Annabeth sent a glance towards Thalia and slipped out of the gym.
Thalia seemed to get the memo and half danced and half dragged a flailing Grover towards the door.
Well, this was going to take a while.
Percy managed to convince Bianca, and by unspoken extension Nico, to step outside the gymnasium.
They turned the corner into the corridor. Suddenly, Percy froze.
Nico slipped in front of Bianca, to try peek over, or rather around, him.
Being short sucked.
Even so, he was able to make out a humanoid shape in the shadows-
Just before something sharp and lethal flew out towards them.
"Look out!" Nico shouted, pulling Bianca down.
A wicked looking spike impaled the wall behind them.
They stared at the creature stepping out of the shadows.
"Thank you for stepping out of the gym, I really do hate the middle school prom," said the Vice Principal in an oily voice.
(Whoa. Déjà vu or what?)
He was only able to glimpse Dr. Thorn, before he was violently pulled into the protective circle of Bianca's arms.
He went along, grumbling slightly.
He had killed worse monsters when he was asleep.
Or will kill.
Whatever, Time travel was confusing.
"Monsieur Nico, Mademoiselle Bianca, come this way. The young man too, if you please."
Percy inched to the left.
"And before anyone gets… troublesome," He eyed the spike on the wall,
"Resistance is highly discouraged."
Nico was about to die.
No, not because of the monster staring down at them with its repulsive gaze.
No, not even because of the whole time travel shindig.
It was, in fact, because of his overprotective elder sibling, who held his neck in a vice-like grip.
"Uncle. Uncle," he whispered before she finally noticed.
Nico let out a sigh of relief.
And now, for the other pressing matters-
After much deliberation, he decided not to take on Dr. Thorn head-to-head.
For one, there were too many witnesses.
Number two, he did not have his weapons. Yet.
And number three, he had an atypical desire to be coddled by his sister.
(In his defense, hadn't been coddled by his sister for nearly a decade, and he deserved the respite.)
He carefully weighed the pros and cons of the situation and decided to let Percy take care of this situation.
Before he knew it, they were the Manticore's captives.
This is the last time I trust Jackson with anything, thought Nico moodily.
He stared at the hulking form of Dr. Thorn in front of him.
This is so pointless.
Heads swiveled around to him as he blinked around before realizing that he had spoken aloud.
Brain to mouth filter.
Right.
The Manticore made a low, growling noise at the bottom of his throat, but the sound which truely sent a shiver down his spine was Bianca's huff.
"Don't you have any sensitivity to your surroundings?"
"What? Where's the fire?" he said easily.
Okay- he could probably get out of this without bloodshed-
"Nico did you or did you not hear what Percy just said?" asked Bianca, scrunching up her face disapprovingly.
-Or maybe not.
"Who now?"
"This guy. Percy Jackson."
Percy put his hand up hesitantly with a nervous smile.
"'Sup?"
"Nico. Did. You. Listen. To. Him?"
"Uh… No?" said Nico.
He figured that this was his best option, since he did not remember more than a few words of what Percy had said.
And since he had already lived the actual thing, he had no wish to give details about things which he wasn't supposed to know about, thank you very much.
So yeah.
When in doubt, go with feigned ignorance.
One of his favorite mottos.
Works every time.
Percy grinned at him in a slightly nervous manner as Bianca threw her hands up in annoyance.
…Or maybe not.
"Nico, you should listen to people when they talk. If you only you would stop burying you nose in those stupid card games…"
Nico, naturally, went on defensive. Long-lost sister or not, Mythomagic was a quality card game.
And he said as much,
"Hey, Mythomagic is not stupid!"
"Focus, Nico! And listen to the people around you."
"Oh, so if I do listen, it's eavesdropping, and if don't, it is not paying attention. That's so not fair!"
"Oh for the sake of the heavens when will you learn- Not fair? Won't you grow up?!"
He said something ungentlemanly under his breath in Italian.
And immediately wished that he could take it back.
He was pretty sure his sister combusted.
Nico quailed under her furious glare. He was sure that the temperature had dropped by at least ten degrees.
"…What did you say, idiota?"
"Nothing."
"Nico di Angelo, if you value your life then you will answer me! Where did you learn that word?"
"…I plead the fifth?"
At this point they switched to Italian.
"Nico, how could you say that? I raised you better."
"You didn't raise me at all," he mumbled under his breath, before continuing,
"Sorry Bianca, I just needed to get you talking in Italian. I don't think that Dr. Thorn knows it."
The Manticore shot a look at them at the sound of his name.
Bianca huffed indignantly.
"Fine. But don't think you're off the hook. And don't use his name unless you want him to notice."
"What are we going to do about the Vice-principal?"
"…I don't know."
She glanced over at the Manticore.
Dr. Thorn had stopped paying attention to what they were saying.
And well, they had lost Percy long before that.
Poor seaweed brain.
"Maybe we should listen to what he says," said Bianca, nodding towards the Manticore.
"Who? Dr. Prickly-Pants?"
He earned a huff of laughter at the nickname.
"Bianca, he is not who he says he is. I think he is a terrorist-"
"All the more reason to follow him. If he isn't after us in particular, then maybe-"
"But he is after us in particular."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because he just said so?"
"When?"
"In the corridor."
"Oh so you listened then but not when-"
"Bee, focus."
"…Well, if that's case, he won't kill us as long as he has use of us."
"Somehow I doubt that."
"…Nico?"
"I don't know. I just have a really bad feeling about it."
"Bad feeling? You mean one like the time on the bus?"
"No, this one's worse. Way worse."
"Well, we could follow that Percy. But I don't think we should place our trust in someone our age."
"Yeah, but he feels… safer somehow? But in reality he's more likely to get us killed, isn't he."
"He feels safer?" said Bianca, skeptical,
"I don't know about that. If anything, he feels foolish."
"Yes. And that's what could get us killed. Ah! I can't make up my mind!"
"So you think it is more logical to follow Dr. Thorn, but it feels right to follow the boy. Me… I think we should follow the one with the weapon."
Nico shook his head hesitantly.
"Then what should we do?"
"…I don't know. I don't know!"
"I do not feel comfortable with it either. But hey, if you feel so strongly about the boy, we'll follow him."
"Un…"
"Take your time. Nod once for the spikes, twice for the boy."
Nico considered this carefully.
He didn't have a solid reason to convince Bianca to follow Percy.
And if they went along with the Manticore, they'd get mixed up with Luke and his lot.
But on the other hand, if Bianca was away from the Campers, she would be away from the Hunters…
Nico made a decision.
Alright then.
As they say- if you want to do something no one has ever done, you must try something no one has ever tried.
When Nico was quiet for over a minute, Bianca shot a worried glance at him.
He needed to start his mission sometime, so why not now?
...Why was he hesitating?
Nico glanced at Percy one last time and nodded his head once.
Bianca smiled, and nodded once back.
Nico answered her with a small smile of his own and let another moment of silence pass.
He then cocked his head to the side and slowly drawled,
"So what you mean to say is... You admit it? That I was right all along?"
"Huh?" asked Bianca, confused.
"Mythomagic is coolest game of the century?" He elaborated.
Bianca looked at him with tired fondness. She said,
"Heh. You wish. But- I'll admit it's pretty awesome."
"Yes!" he whooped-
And choked for air as something closed around his throat.
Preview:
Dr. Thorn seemed to have enough of his chatter.
...Gods, what was he thinking?
..."Hello, I'm Annabeth."
...The world stopped.
...Nico and Jason stood back to back.
...He looked up into the enraged face of Nico di Angelo.
...What a mess.
...Nico made a decision. It wasn't a smart decision.
...His heart pounded in his chest.
...He wouldn't mess up. He couldn't afford to.
Now it's time for the anon reviews! Thank you all so much for reviewing!
Matt: W.r.t stands for 'with respect to'. It seems like I've unintentionally quoted my Mathematics text book, so sorry about that! And I'm glad that you're sticking around!
Guest: Vagabond, huh? Duly noted.
SimplySauve: *puts on sunglasses* I like your style.
Psychopath: I'm glad you liked it, and happy that you picked up the subtle reference to the endings and beginnings theme I tried to apply. Of course, some are random-ish, but almost all of them play an important role in Nico's life, and in this story. And, no I guess he didn't know about Thalia's 'end'- maybe it's the last time he saw her fight? Or maybe he sees it in the sarcophagus of Kronos? But more about that later. 'Apocalyptic world' is a pretty good way to describe it, yes. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by Kronos being in Nico's debt...? And as for being anti-climatic, I'm sorry you felt that. But I will say no more on this matter to avoid spoilers. And yeah, that would have been totally cool- the seven stages of grief... asdfgh! Why didn't I think of it while writing it? And Evil Army, eh?
One of Vagabond, one for Evil Army. Mmm. Hm. Okay.
Oh, and don't worry, you'll see what it's for.
A/N: Nothing ground breaking, but the 'moment that changed his life' was the moment Percy set eyes on him.
Don't forget to vote!
The options are vagabond, evil army or unconsciousness.
Please poll or review.
Upto two options are allowed.
Also, if you are wondering why the heck I'm updating on Friday when I clearly mentioned Saturday- I like to be unpredictable. ;P
Have a nice day!